Mindfulness Meditation · Empowerment
This week’s meditation session is led by Lama Aria Drolma and the theme is Empowerment. The guided meditation begins at 15:56.
Buddha Shakyamuni; Amdo Province, Eastern Tibet; 16th century; Pigments on cloth; 57 5/8 x 47 x 2 1/4 in. (146.4 x 119.4 x 5.7 cm); Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.1.5
This painting features Buddha Shakyamuni with a pair of his monk-disciples. The composition is remarkably symmetrical, featuring a central axis around which everything finds its right proportions and place. Even the landscape is arranged ideally. The noble equilibrium and poised coordination of parts forge a visual metaphor for the enlightened meditation of Buddha Shakyamuni. Once enlightened, the Buddha becomes the “world pillar,” connecting the heavens above, the earth below, and the mountains that knit them together. The effect is one of solemn grandeur.
Buddha Shakyamuni perfectly represents the notion of wisdom in this tradition. The Buddha’s insight into the true nature of reality and his life lived with compassion allowed him to reach enlightenment and to escape samsara.
Lama Aria Drolma is an ordained Buddhist teacher in the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, who has completed over a decade of monastic study and meditation training. She is a graduate of the traditional Tibetan Buddhist retreat program spanning three years and three months, an advanced cloistered meditation training program at Palpung Thubten Choling Monastery, New York.
Lama Aria Drolma teaches worldwide, leading retreats, workshops, and corporate meditation programs and is a popular guest speaker at universities and organizations. She emphasizes Vajrayana Buddhism and Buddhist principles, making them relevant in our everyday lives, helping us to cultivate loving kindness and compassion, and bringing about a transformation of contentment and a genuine sense of well-being.
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